


Thanks for the Prolepses

by suchA_Consequentialist



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Politics, American Politics, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-22
Updated: 2013-03-22
Packaged: 2017-12-06 02:16:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/730455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchA_Consequentialist/pseuds/suchA_Consequentialist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This city breeds controversy and bathes in debate. It's not hard to find people you should want to avoid - they become the people you most want to drink beside at the end of the day.</p>
<p>It is in a tiny room in the bowels of a building just off Capitol Hill that Grantaire begins to realize no matter how often they enjoy the benefits of friendly debate his relationship with Enjolras is just as tentative as any job in this city.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thanks for the Prolepses

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by the incomparable [truethingsproved](http://archiveofourown.org/users/truethingsproved). 
> 
> Please note that the Senate Majority Leader is an original character in this story. I did not write the Senator to have any affiliation or reflection on Senator Reid.
> 
> (If the grammar is terribly offensive, the prose left you ill, the characters were poorly drawn, or you simply have something to say then I invite your comments.)

Grantaire shouldn't technically be here. The only person that really needs to hear any of this is Combeferre. It was a complete shock when Enjolras had rolled down the window earlier, looked at him from the front seat of the Honda and asked in all sincerity, "Aren't you coming?"

Undeniably, the two young men have made a kind of peace, even if more beer has been spilled between them than either would admit. This city breeds controversy and bathes in debate. It's not hard to find people you should want to avoid - they become the people you most want to drink beside at the end of the day. When the news has told everyone who will be fired by 11:00 in the morning, keeping your mind sharp on the edges of the opposition is preferable to losing that next big deal because you let yourself become complacent. The longer Enjolras talks with Grantaire after hours, the shorter his fights on the phone become. He's more inclined to argue the root of an argument now rather than reciting recycled statistics.

That is how Grantaire was cajoled into working minimal hours at the ridiculous lobbying firm, and then the PAC that came after. The total hours their PAC has worked so far rival the overtime most Hill Staffers lose their minds to, and the money they've raised makes a New York law firm look like the Salvation Army. Yet it is in a tiny room in the bowels of a building just off Capitol Hill that he begins to realize no matter how often they enjoy the benefits of friendly debate his relationship with Enjolras is just as tentative as any job in this city. 

They are meeting with the Senate Majority Leader, who has recently announced to an obscene amount of camera flashes that he will not run again in two years. Across a dull surfaced conference table, they sit face-to-face with one of the most influential people of the past fifteen years. He smells like paper and after-shave, arrogance and influence. 

Every time the old man speaks Grantaire looks at Combeferre and rolls his eyes. As Grantaire is slouched beside Enjolras and not Combeferre the effort he puts into doing so is distracting at best.

"I'm sorry gentleman, am I wasting your precious Twitter time?" the Senator asks suddenly, shifting so that the Member pin on his lapel glints in the florescent light, "I thought this was a serious conversation, Enjolras." 

Sitting up, Enjolras gives the Senator a considering look. After a quick nudge from Combeferre he pauses a moment before addressing the comment. "Forgive me, Senator. You seem to have lost me." 

"You brought a child in here. You walked into a deliberately private conversation and brought a kid who really ought to be in the PAGE program. " 

On instinct Enjolras reaches for Grantaire's arm, but it's an aborted gesture. Grantaire is already clenching his jaw in an effort to remain silent. He isn't used to being awake this early without downing a certain number of drinks and he only had time for a beer this morning. In the sterile room he knows he must look jumpy and just this side of too intense; he cannot defend himself without embarrassing both the PAC and Enjolras. 

The Senator isn't done. With a glance at his watch he says, "The boys down at the NRSC had drinks last night. You know, they wound up talking about - or should I say laughing at - the race." The man shifts once in his seat, slouching a bit and crossing his legs in a show of confidence that has Enjolras clenching his own jaw. Grantaire wants to see Enjolras spit out the bad taste collecting in his mouth and knock this old man down.

Continuing to speak as though Enjolras has invited him to continue, the Senator is flush with self-satisfaction. "I don't like to gossip boys, but rumors seem to fly everywhere you come up in conversation. It looks like everyone who doesn't think you've hit your peak thinks you're falling off your pedestal. And that's not even the people who say you've been a crock from the start. Your press releases are impressive - oh yes, I've seen them. Of course I've seen them, boys. Look, I can admire a cause as much as the next man, but I promise you, I promise you if you run that young lady as a candidate she's only four steps from being the next Howard Dean." 

If the silence could get any more oppressive, then it certainly has. Combeferre has stopped moving completely, and Grantaire has been counting backwards to remain still.

Calmly, Enjolras waits to ensure that the Senator's smirk is the end of his speech. Then he stands and replies.

\--- --- ---

The meeting is far shorter than expected. 

As they file out they pass a baffled Executive Assistant. Grantaire can hear the young woman's Blackberry clatter to the floor mid-vibration. It must be the first time she has seen someone leave the room before her boss has finished shouting. 

And though Enjolras has a way of turning petty indignation into a righteous public outcry against a man with more connections than the media can possibly vilify him for alone, even he cannot argue when he represents someone else. Their race hopeful - their bright spot in the city that eats optimists for breakfast - is a face without attachments yet. Any press coverage this early will be tricky at best, and Grantaire just forced their hand in front of CNN's favorite guest - if not the most accessible.

Enjolras will not look at Grantaire till well into the next day. That might be, however, because Grantaire is still sitting at a bar until well into the next day.


End file.
